Ren Yi choked on his words. “What arranged marriage? I didn’t run away from home. I’m seriously going to school, you know.”
“Oh, please.” Ren Ke shook her head again, clearly unconvinced. “If the family didn’t donate a building, do you really think you’d be able to graduate? They’re father and son, no matter how much they fight, it’s still their own business but you jump in…”
Ren Yi pouted. “But Sis, the Xie family doesn’t even care about Brother Yuan’s health. I can’t just pretend nothing’s wrong and turn my back on him, right?”
Ren Ke smiled again and shook her head, deciding not to continue the topic. In any case, the Ren family would have her to rely on in the future.
“An Alpha like that will end up treating suppressants like daily meals,” Ren Ke said meaningfully. “You know that, don’t you?”
Ren Yi scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. “Yeah, I know. That, uh, special effect suppressant, Sis, help me ask around about it too, okay?”
Ren Ke pressed down the corner of her lips, her tone gentle. “Then let me ask you something else. What exactly did you all do last night?”
“Played mahjong all night.” Ren Yi raised one finger and said gloomily, “The whole night! I didn’t win a single round.”
Ren Ke wasn’t surprised in the slightest. “Mm. With your skills, that’s normal.”
“How is that normal?!” Ren Yi immediately protested. “Clearly my luck was just bad! Unlike Brother Yuan, he can use anything other people discard!”
Ren Ke stared at Ren Yi as if looking at a fool. “Little brother… how about we quit mahjong?”
“No way.”
Ren Ke added faintly, “Every other sentence is ‘Brother Yuan.’ Is he your real brother or am I your real sister?”
“Of course you’re my real sister.” Ren Yi flashed a flattering smile. “I’ve told you everything I know, Sis. About Dad’s side of things…”
“We’ll see how you behave.” Having had her fill of gossip, Ren Ke was satisfied. She sat down on the living room sofa outside and continued scrolling through her gossip apps. “Hurry up and get moving. Clean yourself up and come home for dinner.”
“Got it, Sis.”
After being taken back, Xie Wangyuan slept straight through until the next evening. He was finally woken by hunger.
After showering, he stood in front of the mirror, puffed out his cheek and examined the corners of his lips and the side of his face, no longer very noticeable.
Opening the wardrobe, Xie Wangyuan once again felt disdain for his younger self. “Tsk, awful taste. Whatever. School, huh? Might as well consider it a funeral for myself.”
He reluctantly pulled on a blue T shirt. It was a bit tight. Then he realized there wasn’t a single suitable pair of underwear he could wear, all of them were too small.
In the end, he had no choice but to go commando, pull on a pair of loose gray sports shorts and curse as he walked out of the room. “No decent clothes at all. Might as well live at a club.”
“There’s no suitable endorsement for Lele? Didn’t you say not long ago that a new smartphone endorsement had just been finalized? Give the better one to Lele. Don’t worry about the rest. Lele’s been wronged these past two days, take good care of him…”
Leaning against the stairway midway, Xie Wangyuan listened to Xie Tiancheng finish his call with his back turned. Expressionless, he went downstairs and into the dining room.
Xie Tiancheng placed his phone on the coffee table, shot him a glance and frowned. “What is that outfit?!”
It was already past mealtime. There was nothing on the dining table. Xie Wangyuan’s stomach ached with hunger. He searched through the fridge and finally dug out a few pieces of chocolate, shoving them into his mouth, chewing a few times and swallowing.
“…Go upstairs and change!”
After he finished eating, Xie Wangyuan strode over and stood casually in front of Xie Tiancheng. “Really sorry about that, Dad. I can only wear my high school clothes like this now. If you really can’t stand it, how about I go to the hospital tomorrow and get a full body bone shaving surgery?”
Xie Tiancheng clenched his jaw, the muscles in his cheeks tightening. “Since you’re living at home, remember to come down on time for meals. I’m not waiting for you to eat and the kitchen won’t be lighting a separate fire just for you and quit smoking.”
“My schedule is like this and I can’t quit smoking.” With a cigarette between his lips, Xie Wangyuan spoke indistinctly. “Why don’t you just have Uncle Wang send me back to my place?”
Xie Tiancheng looked at him with suspicion for a long time. Thinking that his cards had all been frozen and he shouldn’t be able to cause any more trouble, he finally said coldly, “If you don’t have money, stay put and behave. Don’t go around disgracing the Xie family.”
Xie Tiancheng called for Butler Wang and added, “Take him back. Watch him go in before you return.”
As it turned out, when one was unlucky, the misfortune really did come nonstop.
“Uncle Wang, are you doing this on purpose to mess with me?”
They had only been driving for about ten minutes when the car broke down. It was now parked by the roadside, the hood open. The driver was drenched in sweat, his hands still busy butler Wang stood to the side, looking awkward. “Second Young Master, it really did stall.”
Xie Wangyuan glanced around. Aside from the barren hills and the long, straight stretch of road before him, the night was vast and empty, nothing else in sight.
Butler Wang hung up his call and said, “Second Young Master, a tow truck is on the way. Would you come back with me first? I’ll arrange another car to send you.”
Xie Wangyuan said irritably, “Tsk, forget it. You all go back. I’ll find someone to pick me up.”
After calling to confirm that Ren Yi was free, Xie Wangyuan sent him his location. Then he squatted on the curb and started smoking.
By the time he reached his third cigarette and rejected Butler Wang’s suggestion yet again, the tow truck had driven off and Xie Wangyuan stood up.
The nighttime temperature in the mountains was even lower. He rubbed his exposed arms a couple of times, then looked down at his ridiculous outfit and laughed in spite of himself.
He was still wearing the flip flops he’d used in the shower. He hadn’t even dried his hair after bathing. There was no need to think, by now, his hair must’ve turned into a complete bird’s nest.
A chill wind swept past and Xie Wangyuan finally experienced firsthand what it meant to be truly cold below the waist. Unable to help it, he viciously cursed his younger self all over again, for having worn shorts like these back then.
After venting his frustration, he immediately forgave himself.
After all, without these shorts, he might have been reported as a late night roadside exhibitionist and hauled away by the police.
He paced back and forth a few times but his body didn’t warm up at all. In the end, he could only squat down again and continue smoking.
After just two puffs, raindrops began pelting his face. At this point, Xie Wangyuan couldn’t even find the energy to curse anymore. His entire face was shrouded in dense, gloomy air.
Not far away, headlights flickered twice. Xie Wangyuan squinted and turned his head, saw that they were coming from the direction of the villa district and turned back again.
A red Mercedes sped past him with its lights flashing, then slowly reversed.
The dashboard side window rolled down. The person driving seemed quite curious about him, leaning hard toward the window, only to be caught by the seatbelt. The movement looked a bit comical.
Soon, the man got out of the car, walked around the front, leaned against the passenger door and said, “I thought I was seeing things. Isn’t this the same Second Young Master Xie who just made the trending searches?”
The moment he heard that sarcastic, yin and yang tone, Xie Wangyuan, already nauseated from smoking too much, felt even worse. He didn’t even bother lifting his eyelids.
“What, if I don’t do the trending searches, you don’t recognize your dad anymore?”
“Xie Wangyuan, you…. ” The man took two deep breaths, then continued in the same mocking tone. “In weather this cold and it’s even raining. Why is Second Young Master Xie out here all by himself? Maybe I’m just ignorant but where exactly is this new fashion trend you’re wearing from?”
Xie Wangyuan straightened his arm and flicked the ash from his cigarette toward the man’s shoes. “When your tongue grows longer, your insight gets shorter. If you don’t want people to notice you, shut that beeping mouth of yours, you big mouthed gossip.”
The long tongued man: “……”
His face twisted a couple of times before he forced a grin. “Xie Wangyuan, you really aren’t afraid of letting everyone know you’ve returned to the country, are you? Causing such a huge stir but honestly, the Xie family is being pretty sloppy. How could they throw our Second Young Master out here without even preparing some proper clothes? If you don’t mind, why don’t you take the jacket I’m wearing for now?”
“Mind.” Xie Wangyuan answered flatly. “Humans and animals are different. I don’t wear dirty things.”
The long tongued man’s expression darkened. “Xie Wangyuan, what right do you still have to look down on people like before? That little lover of yours is in my hands now. I suggest you think things through carefully.”
Xie Wangyuan finally raised his eyes, lazily appraising the Alpha in front of him. He looked vaguely familiar but Xie Wangyuan couldn’t remember who he was at all.
Giving up on thinking, he drawled, “Your dad has too many lovers. Which one are you talking about? Though it doesn’t really matter. Whichever it is, he’s your little dad. Serve him well.”
As the rain grew heavier, the long tongued man lost any interest in continuing this hopeless war of words. Putting on a show of false concern, he said, “What a pity, I just happen not to have an umbrella in my car. I’ll have to trouble Second Young Master Xie to continue enjoying the rain here. Do take care of your health. There are so many Betas waiting for you back at the club, aren’t there? I won’t waste your precious time. After all, with just this short while, it’s probably about time for you to switch partners again.”
Xie Wangyuan abruptly stood up. The long tongued man instinctively took a step back in alarm. When he realized Xie Wangyuan wasn’t about to strike, he let out a breath of relief, only to meet Xie Wangyuan’s mocking gaze. His face flushed with embarrassment and anger. “Xie Wangyuan!”
“Coward.” Xie Wangyuan barked, feeling even more irritated after scaring him. “If you don’t want me to shove this cigarette butt into your mouth, then get lost. Don’t stand here and offend your dad’s eyes.”
Having been frightened just by Xie Wangyuan standing up, the long tongued man felt he’d already lost face. Staying any longer would only be more humiliating.
In the end, he left behind nothing but, “I won’t disturb Second Young Master Xie’s refined enjoyment of the rain,” before getting back into his car and driving away.
The exhaust fumes hit Xie Wangyuan square in the face. His expression instantly darkened. “Fuck. Where did that idiot come from?”
He was tired of standing, tired of squatting and Ren Yi still hadn’t shown up. Growing impatient, Xie Wangyuan called again, only to hear that it was raining and traffic in the city was jammed, so he’d have to wait a bit longer.
Xie Wangyuan’s face darkened even further. His clothes were soaked through and clung to his body, raising goosebumps all over him.
He hadn’t eaten properly for days. Even with his heavy smoking habit, half a pack of cigarettes in, Xie Wangyuan was starting to feel awful, nausea rolling in waves as if he were about to vomit.
Leaning against a streetlight pole, Xie Wangyuan shoved another cigarette into his mouth, thinking that today must have been one of his inauspicious days, he never should have stepped outside.
Yet no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t remember where he’d seen that long tongued man before. Xie Wangyuan was puzzled. Had he really offended that many people in the past?
On the opposite side of the road, headlights approached, accompanied by two honks. Ren Yi turned the steering wheel and reversed the car, apologizing, “Sorry, Brother Yuan. The traffic jam really held me up.”
Xie Wangyuan stubbed out his cigarette and wiped the rain from his face and clothes with a couple of tissues. “It’s fine.”
Ren Yi glanced at what Xie Wangyuan was wearing and guessed that he’d had another clash with his family. “Should we go to a hotel first?”
After warming up a bit inside the car, Xie Wangyuan rolled all the windows down and stuck his hand outside to feel the speed of the wind. “My card’s been frozen, so I don’t have money to pay you.”
“Why are you being polite with me?” Ren Yi joked. “If I hadn’t differentiated into a Beta back in high school, with the relationship we have, my dad would’ve shamelessly clung to you for dear life.”
Back when Ren Yi was still in middle school, the Ren family had just moved to City C to develop their business. Their conditions were decent but in the eyes of City C’s rigid old families, the Rens were nothing more than rootless nouveau riche.
Ren Yi himself wasn’t particularly strong willed. After transferring schools, he’d been bullied. At the time, Xie Wangyuan found the noise annoying and casually stepped in. Over the years, that had turned into a friendship.
“That’s not impossible. Better than the ones my dad keeps desperately trying to shove at me.” Xie Wangyuan started seriously considering the idea but after glancing sideways at Ren Yi, he turned away with obvious disdain. “Never mind. I know you too well, I wouldn’t be able to go through with it.”
Ren Yi: “……”
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
We have reached the inevitable coffee solicitation.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · A Beta who looks particularly attractiveChapter 2 · Illegitimate child? BetaChapter 3 · Am I going to kick a hornet’s nest?Chapter 4 · A banquet that only Betas can attendChapter 5 · The young man’s heart was wastedChapter 6 · What’s so fun about Beta?Chapter 7 · Your dad has too many loversChapter 8 · Date with a ‘beautyChapter 9 · Long Time no see…Chapter 10 · He’ll definitely be the dominant oneChapter 11 · Seeing Qin Yu was like a dog seeing a bone.Chapter 12 · Young Master Qin, what a coincidenceChapter 13 · I don’t like things that other people have touched.Chapter 14 · Just call him “little brother”Chapter 15 · Are you going to pursue Xiao Mei O?Chapter 16 · The dead are deadChapter 17 · Qin Yu, aren’t you going to take responsibility?Chapter 18 · Xie Wangyuan and his dog are not allowed insideChapter 19 · Got into his carChapter 20 · He really gave me a hard timeChapter 21 · You actually Like that beta?Chapter 22 · Like an Alpha catching his wife cheatingChapter 23 · How do you want me to repay you?Chapter 24 · An Alpha without pheromonesChapter 25 · I’m determined to get my hands on Qin YuChapter 26 · Whatever service you needChapter 27 · Honey, shall I put it on for you?Chapter 28 · Mr. Qin has a rather unique aesthetic senseChapter 29 · Who says Qin Yu is hard to deal with?Chapter 30 · Please teach me, Teacher QinChapter 31 · These are all he can lose.Chapter 32 · I’m looking for someone who has “disappeared”.Chapter 33 · A new meaning in his lifeChapter 34 · Your birthday is in a few days, right?Chapter 35 · Just the two of us.Chapter 36 · It was like Qin Yu’s O-selection banquetChapter 37 · He saw himself clearly in his eyesChapter 38 · Do those Betas really make you this comfortable?Chapter 39 · Qin Yu, you just wait.Chapter 40 · I’m to blame for stealing tonight’s main characterChapter 41 · If you have only one piece of clothing left, you winChapter 42 · I admit defeatChapter 43 · He is my lover!Chapter 44 · What kind of cult is Yuyuan?Chapter 45 · There are no other BetasChapter 46 · Go to bedChapter 47 · Susceptible periodChapter 48 · Qin Yu, are you a damn dog?!Chapter 49 · It would be best to lock us up completelyChapter 50 · I’ll give you five million, leave my sonChapter 51 · Other Alphas smell awfulChapter 52 · He can’t possibly be like those stupid Alpha dogsChapter 53 · Only youChapter 54 · Go ahead and say what you just said again if you dareChapter 55 · I thought you were going to meet someone at night.Chapter 56 · Swallow it.Chapter 57 · Service fee for the second young masterChapter 58 · He touched it himself and showed it to meChapter 59 · To make an Alpha no longer need an OmegaChapter 60 · They’re kindly taking me in?Chapter 61 · Qin Yu is different.Chapter 62 · HelpChapter 63 · At times like this and that with Qin Yu.Chapter 64 · We will never abandon themChapter 65 · My wife’s surname is QinChapter 66 · Two numbersChapter 67 · Qin Yu and dogs are not allowed insideChapter 68 · Eat a lotChapter 69 · It’s a must-eatChapter 70 · Batian misses youChapter 71 · Earn money to support your wife.Chapter 72 · I hug you like a crossChapter 73 · Use these to exchange for a wish.Chapter 74 · Extra 1Chapter 75 · Extra 2Chapter 76 · Extra 3Chapter 77 · Extra 4Chapter 78 · Extra 5Chapter 79 · Extra 6Chapter 80 · Extra 7Chapter 81 · Extra 8Chapter 82 · Extra 9Chapter 83 · Extra 10Chapter 84 · Extra 11Chapter 85 · Extra 12